The central communications/public information operation for the USG

USG Facts

The Board of Regents

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia was created in 1931 as a part of a reorganization of Georgia’s state government. With this act, public higher education in Georgia was unified for the first time under a single governing and management authority. The governor appoints members of the Board to a seven year term and regents may be reappointed to subsequent terms by a sitting governor. Regents donate their time and expertise to serve the state through their governance of the University System of Georgia – the position is a voluntary one without financial remuneration. Today the Board of Regents is composed of 19 members, five of whom are appointed from the state-at-large, and one from each of the state’s 14 congressional districts. The Board elects a chancellor who serves as its chief executive officer and the chief administrative officer of the University System. The Board oversees the public colleges and universities that comprise the University System of Georgia and has oversight of the Georgia Archives and the Georgia Public Library Service.

The University System

The University System of Georgia (USG) is a part of the community in each of Georgia’s 159 counties and provides services across the state. The USG is composed of 26 higher education institutions including four research universities, four comprehensive universities, nine state universities and nine state colleges. It also includes the Georgia Public Library Service, which encompasses approximately 389 facilities within the 61 library systems throughout the State of Georgia. Additionally, the USG includes the Georgia Archives which identifies, collects, manages, preserves and provides access to records and information about Georgia.

Degrees, Majors and Rankings

The University System of Georgia’s institutions conferred a total of 62,545 degrees in fiscal year 2016, including 38,514 bachelor’s, 11,044 master’s and 1,645 doctorate degrees.

The majority of baccalaureate-level degrees awarded within the University System of Georgia are in the fields of business, psychology, education and nursing.

Georgia is one of only three states with two or more institutions in the U.S. News 2018 Top 20 Public National Universities. Georgia Tech is ranked No. 7 on the list and the University of Georgia in a tie at No. 16.

Enrollment

The University System of Georgia enrolled 325,203 students for Fall 2017.

Economic Impact, Employment and Budget

The University System of Georgia’s economic impact on the state was $16.8 billion in Fiscal Year 2016 according to the most recent study conducted by the Selig Center for Economic Growth.

The FY16 study found that the USG generated nearly 157,967 full- and part-time jobs – 3.6 percent of all jobs in Georgia. Approximately 32 percent of these positions are on campus as USG employees and 68 percent are off-campus positions in either the private or public sectors.

The University System has an annual budget of more than $8.8 billion for fiscal year 2018.